


Acceptance

by Revakah



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, Biting, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-12 00:58:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19218391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revakah/pseuds/Revakah
Summary: A half remembered Lysatran story has unexpected consequences for Eli Vanto.





	Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> So fun with feline Chiss headcanons turned into...this.

After so many years of practice with Thrawn, Eli thought to himself, it might be nice to someday feel like he could actually win one of their sparring matches. He had just been dropped to the floor again, one hand clutching rather uselessly at Thrawn's shoulder when something flitted across his mind, a fragment of something from a story. Resigning himself to another lecture on proper combat technique if it failed, he decided it was worth trying. He shifted his hand, moving it from Thrawn’s shoulder to the back of his neck and squeezed.

  
Several things happened at once.

  
Thrawn suddenly dropped, his body pushing Eli firmly into the mat as he groaned, and a sudden stunning pain lanced through Eli as Thrawn’s teeth sank into the base of his neck. He yelped at the shock of it, frantically squirming to get away but he was pinned, panting in sudden animalistic fear and confusion- what the _hell_ had just happened?

  
It felt like forever but it must have only been a second or so before Thrawn moved, shoving himself up off of the floor in an inelegant scramble and backing away. Eli turned to look at him- he was _staring_ at him, with one hand pressed to his own mouth before he turned and fairly bolted out of the door. Eli lay stunned for a few more seconds, panic fading and being replaced by anger and no small amount of lust. All too aware of where he was, he stood on unsteady legs and made his way to the changing area.

  
Eli got into the shower, thanking every possible source of good fortune in the galaxy that the place was deserted. The sting of the hot water on his shoulder startled him, but did nothing at all to distract him from the feeling of Thrawn’s weight pinning him down, or from that _noise_ he had made. He bit down on his fist to muffle a cry as arousal hit him hard, his legs almost giving way as he trembled with sudden intense need. He leant against the shower wall for a long moment, forehead pressed to the cool tiles as he tried and failed to gather his thoughts. His shoulder was burning, and as he pressed a hand to the mark a shudder of pure want shot through him. He tried not to think about it, because now he had to make his way back to the quarters they shared and confront his superior officer about why he'd bitten him of all things so that they could put the incident behind them _and never speak of it again._

  
When he arrived back at their shared quarters, he took a moment to steel himself outside the door before stepping inside. Biting his lip, he looked across the room at the Chiss, who was sitting down with his head in his hands. He raised his eyes to meet Eli’s, then stood and faced him. Eli forced himself to meet Thrawn’s gaze, hoping that for once he would give a straightforward explanation for what had happened.

  
“Lieutenant Commander Vanto, I must apologise-“ Eli held up a hand to halt him, watching Thrawn’s face. He looked as though he was studying Eli again, looking for something in particular and seeming almost confused by its absence.

  
“Why the hell would you…I need to know what just happened.” Thrawn stared for another few seconds, then abruptly sat back down again. “I had assumed that you knew what had occurred, although I admit I now see you could not have known about that particular aspect of Chiss physiology.” Blinking, Eli took a second to parse what Thrawn meant. “You mean your _neck_? Is it…Did I-?“ Abruptly Eli felt his face flame as he realised exactly where the errant thought that started all this had come from. "Um…” Thrawn eyed him for another long moment before he continued, “Yes, precisely. I was already aware of your attraction to me, but I had expected you to proceed in a more human fashion. Of course I did not object as I accepted your offer, but your reaction made it clear-“

  
He was still talking, Eli knew, he was still talking, and he was saying words, but there was no way this could possibly be happening. The explanation seemed to heavily feature the words _claim_ , and _mark_ , and then something about _bonds_ , and...

  
Eli was still standing, staring at Thrawn as he spoke. The anger was gone, had been replaced by a cold, sick sense of panic at exactly what he had done to his superior officer, his _friend_ , the man he- Cutting off that train of thought before he could get into more trouble, he attempted to get himself under control. He hadn't just propositioned the Chiss sexually, he had apparently proposed a much deeper and more meaningful relationship, and he hadn't even meant to. He had to apologise, had to make it clear that it had been an accident, that he hadn't _realised_ , this had all been because of those stupid-

  
Wait.

  
_Wait_.

  
One word of the explanation suddenly jumped out at him, and his heart somehow started pounding even harder in his chest as he realised just what Thrawn had been saying.   
"Accepted?" he said quietly, "What do you mean you _accepted_ , you can't possibly want, I didn't even mean to" He cut himself off and turned away, unable to face Thrawn as he explained. "I've told you all the tales we have on Lysatra about the Chiss, but I didn't think about the other stories. Um, they aren't folk tales, but..."

  
He kept his eyes fixed on the floor as he tried to explain, how the Chiss weren't the only species that featured, but that there was a thriving market for all kinds of entertainment where an attractive alien or supernatural creature would seduce a human protagonist, and would often end up being tamed in the process by their beloved human mate. He hadn't read that many, but one had involved a ferocious and proud Chiss warrior who was only calmed when her beloved had touched the back of her neck, freeing her from a murderous rage. Tears pricked at his eyes as he stammered through a further explanation, that he hadn't meant anything by it but had thought that it might distract him enough to break his hold and that he hadn't realised there could possibly have been any truth to that kind of story. His explanation stuttered into silence as Thrawn rose to his feet and moved to stand in front of him.

  
"I accepted your claim" Thrawn began, taking Eli's chin in his hand and tilting his face up to meet his eyes, "simply because I wished to. You are brave and clever, and someone I could not have imagined finding here in your Empire. I have had to sacrifice much in leaving my people and perhaps it is a selfish thing, but when I realised your interest I began to hope that you and I could one day share a deeper partnership." Eli could only stand there with Thrawn's hand still gently cupping his cheek as he talked, a wild thrumming hope building that their friendship hadn't been ruined, that maybe the thing he had wanted for such a long time could not only be possible but was actually _happening_.

  
He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come.


End file.
